The rise in Nigeria’s debt profile to N19.15 trillion in March, 2017 as against N17.36 trillion at the end of December 31, 2016 has continued to erode the gains made by the country under the former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime leading to Nigeria getting off the hook of Paris Club debts.
According to Debt Management Office (DMO), this shows an increase of N1.79 trillion in three months, arising from new deals in efforts to overcome the 2016 budget deficit put at N2.2 trillion.
It was gathered parts of these deals include $1 billion in February and $500 million in March from Eurobond sales even as this comes with dire consequences of mortgaging the citizens future.
Following the development, the country’s revenue-to-debt ratio and revenue-to-interest payment have long elicited local and international concerns, even as multilateral institutions like World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have declared it unsustainable, calling for the deepening of tax collection as immediate support.
On the domestic debt, made up of those of states and the Federal Government, put at N14.9 trillion, no less than N474.1 billion has been paid out as interest in the first three months of the year – N180.1 billion in January; N106.4 billion in February; and N186.9 billion in March.
Similarly, the external debt component at $13.8 billion as at March 31, was in contrast to $11.40 billion by December 31, 2016, and has consumed about $127 million (about N387 billion) in the period under review.
The N179.15 trillion quoted by the debt manager is the equivalent of a cumulative national fiscal appropriation for 2017 at N7.2 trillion; 2016 at N6.6 trillion; and 2015 at N4.6 trillion, plus the supplementary budgets.
Specifically, of the N19.15 trillion total debt captured by the DMO, FGN Bonds accounted for N8.2 trillion, representing 68.3 per cent of total domestic debt; Nigerian Treasury Bills accumulated N3.6 trillion; Treasury Bonds, N190.9 billion; and the recently inaugurated FGN Savings Bond, N2.1 billion, representing 30.1 per cent, 1.6 per cent, and 0.02 per cent of the total domestic debt.
